Bones of at least ten human skeletons that have not been placed in an anatomical order have been found in an underground floor in the monastery complex "St. Ivan Rilski" at the Trapezitza hill in Veliko Tarnovo.
This was announced by the archeologist Yordan Alexiev, who leads the excavations in this sector of the historic hill, cited by BNR (Bulgarian National Radio).
Probably the number of the human remains will increase, because only 6 square meters form the building with a total area of 100 square meters have been studied, the archeologist surmises.
According to him the find is unusual, because no signs of burial according to Christian customs have been found. It is more likely that deceased people in a short period of time on unclear circumstances have been placed in the underground floor, Alexiev added.
Signs of a powerful earthquake have been found during previous excavations of the complex, when the major buildings of the monastery complex, built in the 13th century, have been destroyed.
The human remains have been found near a 3 meter layer of building materials, but the comparatively good condition of the bones rejects the hypothesis that the people have died in an earthquake.